Former foreign minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) vice-chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi was shifted from Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore to the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) on Tuesday for cardiac tests, after his health deteriorated in custody.

Qureshi arrived at the hospital at about 11am, Daily Pakistan reported. Hospital officials said a heart attack had not yet been medically confirmed. Doctors collected blood samples for cardiac investigations and were awaiting laboratory results before reaching a final diagnosis.

Medical officials declared him out of immediate danger, though he remains under close observation. Doctors are also considering coronary angiography to examine the arteries of his heart.

Fall in jail on 4 November

His lawyer, Barrister Taimoor Malik, said Qureshi collapsed inside the jail on 4 November. He became dizzy while walking in his barrack and fell, injuring his knee and arm. Jail authorities took blood samples and sent them to Shaukat Khanum Hospital for analysis.

His legal team sought further tests, including a CT scan, on the advice of PTI leader and physician Dr Yasmin Rashid. The PTI core committee called for his immediate hospitalisation and a full medical examination.

In custody since August 2023

Qureshi has been in custody since August 2023. He was taken to the same hospital in May 2025 after chest discomfort and returned to prison after observation.

He and Imran Khan were sentenced to 10 years in the cipher case in January 2024, but the Islamabad High Court overturned those convictions in June 2024. Qureshi stayed in custody because of other cases, including those linked to the 9 May protests.

The outcome of the laboratory results and any angiography will determine whether he returns to jail or stays in hospital, according to reports.